Le choix

This morning started off like most mornings on a mission. I smacked my alarm clock into silence as I rolled off the bed into a morning prayer. As I prepared for the day a reoccurring thought entered into my mind about the choice I made to serve a full time mission. It seems like everything in life is either the result of or the precursor to a choice. Whether we run out of gas on the freeway because we chose not to fill up the tank or we didn't go to a party because we knew it wasn't a good scene, each has it's own consequence. As I continued to think about why I came on a mission and how it has effected my life I started to ponder on how it has effected the life of those around me. It never occurred to me how my service as a missionary would effect others or if it even would. I knew my family would miss me but as for my friends I just assumed that we would just pick up where we left off when I got back. Most of the time when we make a decision we don't fully contemplate the domino effect that our choice will have on others or the future generations. As I continued to think about choice I turned to the scriptures during my personal study and thought a lot about Lehi, the prophet from the Book of Mormon.  He chose to listen to the promptings of the Spirit, to leave all of his possessions, gather his family and flee into the wilderness just before the Babylonians came to destroy Jerusalem. Because of the choice he made to listen and leave generations were impacted and we now have the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of of Jesus Christ. In the Spring of 1820 a young man would make a choice that would change the face of the world forever. He couldn't understand why there were so many Christian churches if Christ had only established one, so he took his question to the most reliable source, God. He asked which church was right and which one he should join, at that moment he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and would later become instrumental in restoring Christ's church back to the earth. Because of a question, because of a willingness to follow lives have been changed forever. Now, I don't necessarily think that lives for generations have been changed because I chose to serve a mission but I know that mine has. How has our decision's effected our future? How will it effect the generations?

La vie

How do you stay strong in the face of adversity? Life is filled with difficult times. Things that we never thought would happen to us seem to invade our reality at an ever increasing rate. I always thought that while people served missions that they and their families would somehow be preserved, protected for that period of time, nothing could touch them. As I sit here in front of the computer I realize that no matter where we are in life we are in no way immune to the whiles of the Devil. I just received news that a friend from college passed away. Although her and I were never really close, she means a great deal to someone who has meant the world to me. Death of a loved one is never something that one can prepare for but one thing we can take comfort in is the knowledge that this life isn't the end, it's all so much bigger than this world.

A man named Jesus Christ was a carpenter and in His 30's He revealed himself as the Son of God, the literal Savior of the world. From the immaculate conception to the garden of Gethsemane and the finality of the empty tomb, there is no doubt in Christ's divinity and mission here on earth. All these moments in history added up to the single most important event in the world, the atonement. As Christ conquered death and the pain in Gethsemane He opened the door that we too may conquer the grave. It can be hard when faced with the loss of a loved one to remember the gift of a loving Father in Heaven but what a beautiful gift it is. When my Grandfather passed away last year rather suddenly I couldn't understand why at that moment in time did my Father in Heaven take him away from us. He was the glue that always held us together, our foundation. At his funeral we sang a closing hymn that really struck me, the last two versus of "How Great Thou Art" (written by Stuart K. Hine) read:

And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin, 

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim, "My God, how great thou art!"

Death is never easy but as we remember the eternal perspective these unbearable moments may be faced with courage and strength.  I am so grateful for this knowledge that this life isn't the end. Because of Christ and His sacrifice I will be able to see my Grandfather again, as I face trials with this in mind the Holy Ghost speaks peace to my soul. I may be on a mission and unable to assist those I love through their trials but I can go on serving knowing that it is in the Lord's hands, what better place for them to be.

Conférence général d'avril 2011

It has been such an amazingly crazy weekend at Temple Square. Thousands of people from all over the world have gathered in this 35 acres for the semi-annual event called General Conference. Many have had the opportunity to listen to living prophets give us guidance in this crazy world, what a wonderful blessing it is to have a living prophet today! All of the addresses were wonderful and uplifting but one in particular really made an impression on me. Each time I study or listen to conference I begin with a question in my heart and mind that I am in need of an answer to. Every time without fail within the course of the conference or studying I am able to find an answer, this General Conference was no exception. As I sat in the Conference Center awaiting the beginning of the Saturday Afternoon Session I began to think a lot about what I really wanted out of life and how to attain the goals I have of going to graduate school, being a Mom, a Grandmother etc. Towards the end of the session I began to become a little discouraged as I didn't really feel like I was receiving an answer to how I could achieve all the goals I have set for myself. Finally Elder Dallin H. Oaks got up and said just what I needed to hear and what Heavenly Father would have me know. One thing he said that really struck me was, "Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices and choices determine our actions." Almost a year a go I had the desire to serve a full time mission so I made it my priority to prepare to serve, made the choice to go by filling out the necessary paperwork then took action by coming to the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. Since I have been here life has been nothing short of an extreme roller coaster ride filled with unanticipated twists and turns. Now as I sit almost half way through my mission I can't help but think about the next step my life must take when I return home. So there I sat in this giant auditorium with 21,000 people as Spirit reminded me of the commitment that I made as I chose to make serving a mission my priority. In the Doctrine and Covenants Section 4 it states, "O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day." Elder Oaks's talk was a subtle reminder that I had allowed my priorities to become muddled with distractions of the future. I hadn't even recognized how truly distracted I was as I sat pondering and day dreaming about the future while there was still so much work to be done in the present. How often does that happen in society? How often do we sit waiting for tomorrow when we haven't completed today and how much do we miss out on as we allow the days to pass us by? I pray that I do not get caught in the snare of "what if's" for there is far too much to do in the "right now's."

Le courage

Today I read in the Book of Mormon a story about a man named Alma. He heard the words of a prophet named Abinadi and despite the rejection of the general populous, Alma felt the truth of his words and followed that prompting. Because of the ferocity of the peoples rejection Alma was forced to hide and flee the city. I don't doubt that there where nights when Alma was hiding in the woods that he would think to himself, "How much easier would it have been to just concede, to just go along with what everyone else was saying despite the spiritual confirmation that I received." President Monson (the current Prophet or President of the Church) once said, "Let us have courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval (The Call for Courage)." This story of Alma in the Book of Mormon is a stellar example of courage. He knew in his heart what was right and despite the societal pressures he did what the Spirit prompted him to do. It can often be hard in this crazy world to maintain a moral standard that contradicts pop culture but how much more blessed are we to stand for what we believe in? Because Abinadi stood for truth and because Alma stood for his faith millions of lives have been affected as they've been able to read this record. What a blessing it is to have a record such as this to help give us that courage we all need to "defy the consensus."

"attendant avec l'oeil de la foi"

Life is filled with twists and turns that often times cannot be anticipated. There are questions that cannot be answered and things we simply cannot understand. Despite all of this adversity we face if we are able to look forward with faith we can be given all the answers and strength that we need to accomplish any task (Alma 32:40-41). My testimony of this principle has significantly increased this week as I sat in front of two Sister Missionaries who were looking to me for help and guidance. I am not a theologist nor a scripturist but I do know that no matter how weak I may be through faith in the Lord my weakness may become strength (Ether 12:27). In the Book of Mormon we see so many examples of people being given strength according to their faith. In the First Book of Nephi chapter 7 it states "But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, Saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound." Because of Nephi's faith he was able to break the bands which held him bound and stand before his brothers that were causing him so much pain. We may not be tied up by evil captors but we can be freed from the woes of life that hold us bound if we exercise faith in Christ. According to our faith we can be granted the ability to do all things, even help two Sister's in their time of need.

Une lettre

Until you are away from home without the ability to talk to family and friends every day you will never come to understand the joy that a simple letter can invoke in a person. Today I received a letter from a family I stayed with in France several years ago. It wasn't fancy, just a simple hand written note which I was ecstatic to receive. It got me thinking about how I would feel if I couldn't even hear from my family once a week, how horrible would that be? I wonder if that's anything close to how our Heavenly Father feels when we don't regularly come to Him in prayer. Prayer is our best source of communication with our Father in Heaven, it's much like a telephone call home. Through prayer we can tell our Father how we are feeling, verbally express what we need and what we are grateful for. He wants to hear from us everyday in the same way that my parents want to hear from me and I will want to hear from my children. When looking at prayer from the perspective of parent to child and child to parent I can truly feel its necessity and understand why prayer is so often mentioned in the scriptures. What a beautiful gift and magnificent form of communication.

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6)."

Le prophète

A few days ago we had the opportunity to preview the new Joseph Smith movie, Prophet of the Restoration. The movie tells the life of the first prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as a brief history of the beginning of the church. Since watching the movie I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the sacrifices that have been made throughout time for the cause of Christ. Beginning with Adam, each prophet has had one thing in common; they were all rejected by the common man as they tried to preach the word of God. It’s sad to think about so many that have died because the people didn’t want to hear what they had to say, they didn’t want to hear that what they were doing was wrong. It’s just like Abinadi the prophet from the Book of Mormon (Mosiah 11). He went to King Noah and began to rebuke him for his wickedness and call him to repentance but holding true to the pattern King Noah grows angry and tries to destroy him… It is heartbreaking to think about all the people that have died throughout history for their belief in Christ and for their desire to follow his example. I am so grateful for all that they’ve done but I sure wish they didn’t have to do it.